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The composite professional
Published in Riadh Habash, Professional Practice in Engineering and Computing, 2019
The electromechanical age signaled the beginnings of telecommunications. This age can be outlined around the time between 1840 and 1940. Charles Babbage (1791–1871) worked on his “difference engine”, a mechanical computer which could perform mathematical calculations. The world’s first computer algorithm was written by Ada Lovelace (1815–1852) in the UK. In 1890, Herman Hollerith used punch cards to help classify information for the US Census Bureau. John Von Neumann (1903–1957) developed many concepts, including the “Von Neumann architecture”. In the US, Alonzo Church (1903–1995) developed the key concepts of computability and computing, such as lambda calculus. In the UK, Alan Turing (1912–1954) introduced many core concepts of computer science, including “Turing machine”, and “Turing test”. Grace Brewster Murray Hopper (1906–1992), an American computer scientist and US Navy rear admiral, was a pioneer of computer programming who invented one of the first compiler-related tools. The first, most famous computer, called Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), was built in the 1940s, and the first hard-disk drive, weighing a ton and storing five megabytes, was built in 1956.
The Computer
Published in Gabriele Balbi, Paolo Magaudda, A History of Digital Media, 2018
Gabriele Balbi, Paolo Magaudda
As we may symbolically see in Figure 2.2, the invention and use of this first computer had also something to do with the gender differences in the society of the day. While IT emerged in the second part of the twentieth century in prevalently male environments, such as the military and scientific ones, women played a relevant, and often unnoticed, role as well. As we have seen, in the invention of the first Babbage machine in the nineteenth century, Ada Lovelace contributed to the development of the analytical engine and to the conception of the first accredited algorithm. But women’s roles were also very important during the early stage of the first mainframes era, although their contribution was long swept under the carpet. Science historian Jennifer Light (1999) has, for example, unveiled that many women with high-level mathematical training were employed in the construction and functioning of the first ENIAC computer and, above all, in important software operation management roles.
Winning at Chess
Published in Nicolas Sabouret, Lizete De Assis, Understanding Artificial Intelligence, 2020
Everything began in 1843, when Ada Lovelace wrote the first algorithm for Charles Babbage’s analytical engine, a precursor to the computer. In a way, this is the prehistory of computer science. The first programmable machines didn’t quite exist yet: Jacquard’s loom, invented in 1801, was already using perforated cards to guide needles, but it was purely a matter of controlling mechanical commands. The first machines to use computation and programming only appeared at the end of the 19th century, during the US census. The first entirely electronic computer, the ENIAC, was invented in 1945, a 100 years after Ada Lovelace’s algorithm. It is where we entered year zero in computer science... and everything would go much faster after this.
Automating versus augmenting intelligence
Published in Journal of Enterprise Transformation, 2018
William B. Rouse, James C. Spohrer
One could argue that AI began with Ada Lovelace in the mid 1800s (Auerswald, 2017, Isaacson, 2014). However, many would agree that the field began in earnest with Alan Turing's landmark paper (Turing, 1950). His article on the Imitation Game unveiled his test for a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior. It has remained an important philosophical construct within AI.